Thursday 2 July 2015 16:10, UK
Ben Stokes and Steven Finn believe England have built up some key momentum ahead of the Ashes series which gets underway on July 8 in Cardiff.
A hard-fought 1-1 draw with New Zealand at the start of the summer was followed by a 3-2 series victory in the one-day internationals.
England showed an attacking intent that was crucially lacking during the World Cup, where they failed to progress from the group stages of the competition.
The next test for an improving England side, who will be under the stewardship of head coach Trevor Bayliss for the first time, is an Australia side that won the Ashes 5-0 on home soil in 2013/14.
“We are in a really good frame of mind at the moment,” Stokes told Sky Sports News HQ.
“The last eight weeks have gone really well for us as a Test and one-day team, so we are just looking to carry on that good form.”
As for his first impressions on Bayliss, formed during the recent training camp in Spain, Stokes added: “He seems to put a lot of emphasis on putting the responsibility on us to get the best out of our ability.
“He pretty much said, ‘Cooky’s (Alastair Cook) in charge, he’s the captain, I am support staff to all you players’.
If I do play, it will feel like making another debut in Test match cricket.
“If a coach puts the responsibility onto the shoulders of his players to get the best out of their ability, that is going to do us good.”
Middlesex pace bowler Finn is enjoying something of a renaissance and his form has earned a recall to the Test squad.
Finn’s last Test came in the 14-run win over Australia in the first Test at Trent Bridge in 2013 and after a difficult spell that saw him remodel his action, the 26-year-old is in a positive frame of mind going into an intriguing Ashes series.
“If I do play, it will feel like making another debut in Test match cricket, so it’s really exciting,” said Finn.
“The way we have built momentum over the last eight weeks or so is really exciting. For me personally, I had a tricky little period but that is a long time in the past now.
“I have confidence in the way I am bowling and, if selected, I feel I can do myself justice.
“I have done a lot of learning about my cricket over the last 18 months to two years and the way I need to go about things. It wasn’t beneficial at the time but overall, it has been.
“I am now very comfortable with where I am at and with the technical side of things and it is now just about getting batsman out and putting the ball in the right area.”
The first Investec Ashes Test is live from Cardiff on our dedicated Sky Sports Ashes channel, with coverage beginning at 10am on Wednesday July 8.
